Total pages in book: 84
Estimated words: 80940 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 405(@200wpm)___ 324(@250wpm)___ 270(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 80940 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 405(@200wpm)___ 324(@250wpm)___ 270(@300wpm)
“Of course, it’s okay. I’ll send you a text when I’m heading home.”
Home. I loved that word so much.
“’Kay, see you soon!”
“See ya soon,” Liam said, then lowered his voice. “I love you, Mal.”
My entire body warmed. “I love you too.”
MaryAnne’s head snapped up and her mouth fell open. Then she covered her little scream with her hand, and I couldn’t help but laugh. I hit End and set the phone down.
“Shut up! You’ve said the four-letter word to each other?”
Giggling, I nodded.
MaryAnne stood. “Okay, let’s find something to toast with. This is the best news I’ve heard in a long time!”
She grabbed my hand and nearly pulled me out of the seat and into the kitchen. “Where does he keep the booze?”
I opened the hidden pantry, and we walked in. MaryAnne scanned the bottles, then shook her head. “He keeps the good stuff in his office I bet. Let’s go.”
Sure enough, MaryAnne found a bottle of scotch and I grabbed us two glasses. We sat down and decided to start working on teaching me the ins and outs of the ranch business. After about an hour, we found ourselves on the floor, the bottle of scotch between us, and in a fit of laughter.
“Do you think…” MaryAnne asked between giggles. “Liam is going to be mad we drank so much of his scotch?”
I hiccupped and covered my mouth, falling over and laughing. I wasn’t even sure what was so funny.
“You two look like you’re having a good time.”
The sound of Liam’s voice caused me to sit up quickly, and the entire room spun.
“Whoa! The room is spinning!”
MaryAnne laughed, then suddenly said, “I think I feel a little sick.”
“Okay, ladies,” Liam said as he walked up to us. He leaned down and helped MaryAnne up. “Let’s get you to the bathroom before you hurl.”
She nodded and attempted to walk straight and failed.
“Stay right there, Mal, I’ll be right back.”
I brought my hand up to salute him and ended up hitting my nose with my hand. “Ouch!”
Lying down on the floor, I felt my body relax, and was nearly asleep when strong arms lifted me.
“Come on, sweetheart, let’s get you to bed.”
“I’m not tired!” I said as my head fell against his chest. The sound of Liam’s rumbled laughter in his chest caused me to snuggle deeper into him.
I instantly knew when he had laid me down on the bed. My body grew a bit colder, at least until he covered me up with the quilt that was on his bed. He reached down and kissed my forehead. “Do you feel sick?”
“No,” I said. “But you might want to put a trash can next to the bed, just in case.”
Hearing him chuckle made me smile as I drifted off to sleep.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
Liam
After getting MaryAnne onto the sofa, I called Billy and told him I had found the girls in my office, both drunk. I was surprised that my good bottle of scotch had nearly been finished off.
Heading into the kitchen, I quickly made a sandwich for myself and fed Piper. Billy walked through the front door, took one look at his wife, and smiled.
“She’s going to have one hell of a headache tomorrow.”
I nodded. “So will Mallory. MaryAnne did throw up, hence the bucket next to the sofa.”
Billy shook his head. “I guess they both deserved to let loose. MaryAnne told me yesterday she was nervous knowing the guy who had Mallory captive was still walking the streets.”
I nodded. “Same. Beer?”
“I’ll take a beer and one of those sandwiches if you don’t mind. I haven’t eaten since breakfast, and I’m starving.”
Motioning toward the fridge, I said, “Help yourself. Join me out back and bring a couple extra beers.”
“Will do.”
Making my way to the backyard, I sat down and closed my eyes. I was exhausted. Being up early thinking we were going to be in the air looking for…what…an abandoned barn? We weren’t even sure what we were looking for. I hadn’t slept last night at all, then to have the whole damn thing canceled. I had no idea how in the world we were going to find the place where Mallory was held. Randy and Jonathon were right. They had no solid proof to search anyone’s property. The more the days dragged on, the more I feared the guy was going to get away with it.
Billy walked in and sat down, placing the two beers and his sandwich on the table. “What are you thinking about? You have a serious frown between your brows.”
I shook my head. “If we’re going to find this guy.”
“We’re narrowing it down, and I would think with them looking into the properties, we can narrow it down even further.”
“Maybe. Randy mentioned that Jonathon had contacted one ranch owner, and he gave them permission to search his ranch.”